


Just the Two of Us

by homewithyou



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Breaking Up & Making Up, Canon Compliant, Comfort Sex, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Reunion Sex, Smut, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:27:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28350150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homewithyou/pseuds/homewithyou
Summary: Damen and Laurent rule separately for a few months while their relationship is strained. Time and distance gives them both time to heal - this is their reunion.Set post-canon 20 years.
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 58
Collections: Captive Prince Secret Santa 2020





	Just the Two of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [azanatha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/azanatha/gifts).



> Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to get this done on time!

Damen was coming back. 

It felt impossible to think, even now, even with the evidence of his return gripped tightly between Laurent’s fingers as Damen’s last letter to him rustled in the breeze. Laurent stood statue still on the balcony of their rooms, as he had been doing for some time; his nerves would not let him venture to other parts of the castle while he waited to see the first glimpse of his husband’s figure over the horizon. A small, ruined part of his mind still doubted he would ever see the man again, but Laurent was a man of logic. Damen had promised, and he had never broken a promise to Laurent before.

His heart twinged. Despite everything, Damen was a man of his word, and Laurent would always love that about him. It was not the first time over the past months that Laurent felt like he had rediscovered something he appreciated about his lover in said lover’s absence. Laurent could be walking anywhere in the palace, inside or outside, and be able to find something that reminded him of Damen. Sometimes it was because they served his preferred food at dinner, or clipped his favorite flowers for display, or simply because the sky that day looked extraordinarily beautiful – whatever the reason, Laurent’s mind found every way to conjure up images of the heartbreakingly beautiful man that he had come to miss dearly. 

Despite how hard the change was for both of them, how unfamiliar the prospect of ruling separately was, space felt right to both men. Their last fight had been one of the nastiest – a quarrel that only time away from each other could soothe. They agreed that perhaps space was the only thing that could save the relationship they had built together. It was a relationship that had begun with a passionate love bred from unimaginable hatred, but Laurent had to face the fact that maybe such a love was not meant to last – maybe they were meant to evolve with time, and maybe they resisted that change for too long. The wild way they had loved each other was unsustainable, and both men were left reeling in the aftermath.

When Damen left, though Laurent knew it was right for them at the time, he struggled to find routine again. The departure of Damen left a glaring hole in many parts of his daily life, and Laurent had not known what to do with his newfound loneliness that seemed to consume him. It took a month for him to stop waking up confused when he opened his eyes to an empty side of the bed, and another month until he could start enjoying mornings on his own again. 

In many ways, they were right all those months ago. They truly _did_ need time apart, as Laurent came to discover. There was a certain tragic beauty to the days that Laurent had spent alone, seeing to his kingly duties at Marlas and spending his free time in the gardens thinking of their empire’s other king, miles away in Ios. However, that time gave him ample space to truly think without the presence of Damen there to cloud his mindspace – alone time that he had not possessed in twenty years. Years ago, Laurent had once told Damen he sometimes couldn’t think around him, and that problem did not go away with time; no matter how long they were together, Laurent still managed to feel overwhelmed by his lover at times.

But alone, he could think. Alone, he could reflect. Alone, he could make decisions about how he wanted his future to look. And so alone he existed, his heart constantly feeling as if there were a fist clenched around it but knowing it was right anyway.

About a month in, Damen had written to Laurent, much to the other king’s surprise. He was not expecting to hear anything from Damen for some time, but he supposed it had been long enough. 

_Husband_ , Damen had begun his first letter, which brought a small, sad smile to Laurent’s face – it was an unexpectedly welcome reminder of their past, and what could be their future if they both wanted it.

Their letters, at first, contained nothing more than updates on how their everyday lives had changed since being apart – miniscule details about people they saw, what they did in a day, etc. But with time, their words started venturing to what they felt and could tell no one else. It felt warm, Laurent thought, to learn his husband again in this way, tentative but honest and so wanting of everything he had to offer. 

Two months in, they finally addressed their last handful of fights. The days felt longer than ever, and they both were eager to apologize to one another. Laurent felt a bit embarrassed as he wrote about his thoughts and feelings in depth to Damen in a way he never had before, but the distance made him bolder and able to say what he couldn’t bear to admit to Damen’s face before. It felt freeing, to say things he’d never said for years in fear of ruining what they had, but he figured that they might already be ruined anyway, so there was no harm in opening himself up to Damen fully.

 _No matter what happens, I’ll always be yours_ , Laurent had almost written once, before scolding himself and furiously scratching it out.

Three months in, Damen started writing Laurent cheesy love poetry that always made the blonde blush, and Laurent admitted to how much he missed Damen by his side. 

By the fourth month, Damen was ready to come home.

 _I await your arrival eagerly,_ Laurent wrote to him in their last correspondence, blushing like he was twenty years younger and falling in love for the first time again. He knew it was silly, but there was something about the prospect of seeing Damen again – of feeling his skin, and seeing his dimple, and hearing his laugh – that had his heart racing as he stood waiting. 

The sun would be setting soon, but Laurent refused to move, gripping the letter with one hand and the balcony with the other until – there, on the horizon, a single rider breaking off from the rest and pushing forward through the fields that surrounded the palace. 

Laurent had no control over the grin that threatened to split his face in half, and he also had no control of his feet promptly carrying him out of his rooms and down to the stables. A palace guard tried calling after him as he mounted his horse, yet Laurent was heedless. He knew it was improper, but he had no other outlet for the feeling brimming in his chest besides getting to Damen as quickly as possible. 

The rush of wind through Laurent’s unbound hair as he rode through the palace gates was a welcome, grounding feeling – out here, riding at full speed, Laurent felt as if he could breathe again. He was outside, and he was free, and he was going to see his husband again after four months of separation. 

Damen’s face came into view.

“Damen,” Laurent whispered to himself, and spurred his horse on faster. He swore he could see Damen mouth his name, and a laugh bubbled up out of his chest. Laurent wanted to bottle up the anticipation and giddiness he was feeling in that moment and get drunk on it every night.

When they were close enough, Laurent brought his horse to a careening stop and jumped out of the saddle in a flurry, only to stop suddenly, standing frozen in place. Should he run to Damen? Would Damen accept his embrace? A wave of uncertainty that Laurent had recently become frighteningly familiar with overtook him, as he watched his husband slow his horse to a stop and dismount as well. 

They made eye contact, two men standing hesitantly by their horses, millions of unasked questions between them. A moment passed, then another. 

Damen took a single step forward, and the spell was broken. Laurent broke into a run, a laugh on his lips, and leapt into Damen’s arms with a feeling of relief that spread through his body from each point of contact between himself and Damen. 

“Sweetheart,” Damen breathed as he caught him, and Laurent gripped him tightly, remembering the first time Damen had said that word to him and how its meaning had completely changed since then, just like everything else between them. An immense gratitude for their history and their shared devotion to each other threatened to overwhelm Laurent as tears pricked at his eyes, despite how Laurent hated crying. But if it was in front of Damen, Laurent could bear it.

“I love you so much,” Damen said, planting dozens of kisses in Laurent’s hair and on his forehead while he set his husband down, though he still held him in the embrace of his arms.

“I missed you,” Laurent whispered, and hid his face in Damen’s neck, embarrassed by everything that must be playing out clearly on his face. 

Damen barked out a laugh. “You think _you_ missed me? I thought I would lose my mind without you,” the Akielon joked, giving Laurent one last squeeze before pulling back with his hands on his shoulders.

Damen’s eyes took in every detail of Laurent’s face as he reached up to cup his cheek. “How did you somehow get more beautiful in my absence?”

Laurent could not stop the blush overtaking the apples of his cheeks, nor the way his eye roll probably looked more fond than annoyed. “Hush,” he said, pushing at Damen’s chest. Damen, unwilling to accept any distance between them, grabbed at Laurent’s hand and pulled the other man into his chest again.

They stood for long minutes in each other’s arms, no words between them. No words were needed. Damen was home, and Laurent felt whole again.

“I’ll race you back to the palace,” Damen taunted when they both went to mount their horses again. Laurent looked over to Damen with a devious glint in his eyes before wordlessly taking off in the other direction, leaving a laughing Damen in his midst.

Their race was short-lived but exhilarating, and when they arrived at the palace Laurent felt grateful for his earlier decision to meet Damen out in the fields alone, for he would not have been able to greet his lover the way he truly wanted so close to everyone else. 

After they handed their reins off to the stablehands, Damen reached out to grab Laurent’s hand, and they walked inside together. 

“Where are the rest of your men?” Laurent asked, savoring the forgotten feeling of Damen’s hand in his. A boyish grin broke out over Damen’s face. 

“Somewhere behind me, I presume. But,” Damen gave his hand a meaningful squeeze. “I’m not exactly thinking about them right now.”

Laurent wanted to roll his eyes again, but he could not find it within himself to tease Damen when he was feeling the exact same way. 

After letting Damen greet everyone who needed to be greeted formally and eating a quick public dinner, Laurent found that he was eager to get the Akielon alone – call him selfish, but they had lost time to make up for. 

When the heavy door of their chambers finally shut behind them an hour and a half later, Damen let out a loud breath and leaned against it, letting his eyes fall shut. 

“Are you okay?” Laurent inquired, taking a few steps toward Damen and putting his hands soothingly on broad shoulders. Damen’s eyes opened, and brown bore into blue. 

“I’m great,” Damen said, with seriousness, as his hands went to Laurent’s waist. “I just…” He pulled Laurent in closer and buried his nose in soft blonde hair. “It’s a lot – being back, I mean – and I only want to be with you right now.” 

Laurent’s shoulders sagged in relief, and he leaned into Damen’s embrace. “I want to be alone with you too,” he said quietly, painfully honest. 

They stood together, breathing in each other’s scents and synchronizing their breaths, until a few minutes passed and Laurent grew antsy. At first, he just wanted to nuzzle into Damen’s neck some more. But then, he felt the need to be closer – closer than he ever had been the past few months, a closeness that he both craved and truly needed. 

“Damen,” Laurent murmured into his husband’s neck, before pulling back and bumping their noses together. “I need…” 

“I know,” Damen whispered before leaning in and kissing him. 

It felt like being remade again. That was the only way Laurent could describe the experience of being kissed by Damen right then, a physical signifier that despite everything, despite the ways in which they’d hurt each other, Damen _still wanted him_. As their lips moved together, open and desperate and true, Laurent could not help but gasp into the kiss, overwhelmed by the simple exchange already. 

However, he felt a fierce determination spread through him that they would not stop at kissing tonight. He needed his lover like air, and he would not be left wanting. When he let Damen know of this vocally, the brute let out a hearty laugh and kissed his nose. 

“I could never leave you wanting,” Damen assured. Laurent merely raised an eyebrow as if to say _prove it_. 

And prove it he did. Though Laurent was more wound up, held tighter together than he had been in years after being apart from his husband for so long, Damen took his time. His touches started light and teasing, loosening his lover’s seams, then morphed to purposeful and so, so giving. Laurent could not be bothered to stop the crescendoing noises of pleasure that left his mouth as Damen showered his body in gentle attention with his lips and hands. Damen rubbed his stubble across the lily white skin of Laurent’s abdomen, and the noise that left Laurent’s mouth prompted a loud groan from Damen in response. 

Laurent knew how he must have looked to Damen – flushed, eagerly spread, and moaning like they were the only two people in the world who could hear. But he could not quite find it within himself to care. He felt young again, and loved, and that was all that mattered.

When Damen finally pushed into him, Laurent wrapped himself around the broad body braced above him, his shaking hands roaming the complicated landscape of Damen’s back in reverence. Damen sighed into Laurent’s neck, and the blonde echoed it in its entirety. He felt it, too. _Home again_. 

Damen pulled back and pushed his forehead against Laurent’s for a second while they breathed each other’s air in, lips barely brushing against each other.

“I love you,” Damen whispered.

Laurent, feeling as if his heart had expanded several sizes, took a moment to bask in the simple beauty of those words before closing the miniscule distance between them to plant a firm kiss on Damen’s lips. 

“Fuck me,” Laurent whispered back, his lips curving up into a sly but sweet smile.

Without wasting a beat, Damen began to move, his hips careful but eager in their rhythm and his lips claiming Laurent’s. As they moved together, their pace increasing steadily, his body said what he could not in that moment – _I want you, I need you, I’ll never leave you_. 

When Damen’s pace began to pick up, Laurent had to break off their deep kiss to gasp, throwing his head back against the pillow in abandon. Damen quickly set his mouth to the elegant column of Laurent’s neck and began sucking deep bruises into pale skin. Laurent let out a high-pitched, vulnerable noise. Nothing in that moment seemed more appealing than letting everyone know who his lover was, and what they shared.

“Damen,” he breathed, grasping on tight to miles of bronze skin that he had yearned to touch for months. He was close, and his legs tightened around Damen’s waist.

“I’m here,” Damen said into the warmth of Laurent’s neck, planting a sweet kiss onto the darkest bruise he’d left, evidence of his claim over Laurent’s heart. “I will always be here.”

And with that, Laurent came. 

It felt like it lasted forever. Laurent lost complete awareness of his surroundings as his vision whited out for long moments – he was only aware of the distinct feeling of Damen following him into ecstasy as he lay gasping for air, a tightness in his chest that had been growing for months finally, blissfully unwinding.

In the aftermath, Damen’s only movements were the tiny kisses he laid to the underside of Laurent’s chin. Laurent, in return, lazily brushed his hands across the expanse of Damen’s shoulders. 

“I love you too,” Laurent murmured, and let out a sigh of pure relief. Laurent could feel Damen’s adoring smile pressed into his skin a moment before the Akielon raised his head and he saw it for himself. 

The look they shared was helpless, and they both breathed out little laughs before kissing once more. Laurent let his smile bleed into the kiss – they were going to be okay.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So I was going to include a lot more hurt and angst but every time I started writing painful stuff I would break down because I just went through a breakup myself so I'M SORRY AZANATHA I know you probably wanted more angsty details than I gave but I just couldn't make my favorite fictional couple suffer too much when I'm already suffering, I wanted to write a happy ending so I wrote this soft bullshit... I really hope you like it <3 :')
> 
> My tumblr is [lamen-trash](https://lamen-trash.tumblr.com/). I love getting fic requests so feel free to send them my way!


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